I think it’s probably about time for me to see if little ginge (3 1/2) likes camping and this means that I get to buy a new tent to replace my rather well used/worn Vango.
Looking around I think I have convinced myself that I probably want something around four/five birth for now. I don’t want anything too spendy just yet, in case it turns out that camping is not something that is going to be a regular pastime in the next few years. With this in mind, I’ve got my eye on a Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 Fresh and Black from decathlon as it seems to be about the right size and looks to be a bit of a bargain.
Quechua Arpenaz 4.1 Fresh and Black
Before I go ahead and start spending money on a tent that I’ve never seen (none in stock anywhere near me) does anyone have any experience they would care to share on Decathlon tents in general or this one in particular?
Failing that I’d be open to other suggestions for smaller, budget, family tents as these aren’t something I have had to buy before.
We have one of their bigger pop up tents with the big living area in the middle.
In a life time of camping I must say it's been one of the more impressive tents I've had.
I wouldn't like to be on an exposed western isles squall in it but for sheltered campsite camping mid summer it's grand .
Plenty waterproof and been through a couple of alpine storms (at the bottom of the hill mind)
The penalty is in the weight mind it's strictly car camping
I certainly wouldn't discount them
Have had 2 of their air beam tents and highly recommend them.
Held up to 50-60mph winds, great cheap and cheerful tents.
Downsides are the weight and that i cant actually get them back in the bags properly...
I saw a 2 man and 3 man quecha lightweight tents. Looked a little flimsy but otherwise I thought they looked very good for the money
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/quickhiker-ultralight-3-hiking-tent-3-man-grey-id_8245651.html
No experience of these but I would probably try and look at a 5 man for the reason that these tend to have sperate bedrooms.
Ive got two. One 1-2 person pop-up and a big 4 (2x2) pop-up with a living area in the middle. No problems with either, the smaller one is great for cheeky 'car bivi' camping. Get somewhere, park, throw the tent over a wall and be in bed in 10 minutes, and up and off again just as quick as soon as the sun comes up.
The big ones just as good, as above I doubt it's upto surviving a gale in an exposed location because the poles obviously bend arround a the bottom but for car camping (it's not even remotely aimed at hikers) it's brilliant.
I’ve got one of their inflatable tents, and it’s superb, really easy to put up, and the ‘lounge’ area is very spacious, I can stand up in it with headroom, and I’m 6’, it’s roughly 7’ high, and it can sleep four. Including putting down a footprint, it took roughly twenty minutes to put up, from taking it all out of the bag to sitting down in the doorway watching others struggle to assemble their tents.
Decathlon text their inflatable tents in a wind tunnel to make certain they’re stable in strong winds. This is the one I’ve got;
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/air-seconds-41-tent-id_8384152.html
We have this one
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-42-tent-id_8378238.html
Bought because of better layout to the one you linked to. Have enjoyed it in England , Wales and Scotland.
Pre child we had a 3 man ultralight decathlon tent bused on bike and on back and with car for 10 years all seasons, wild camping and campsites. No problem. It's not a mountain tent but mountain tents are mega money and still heavy. Stood up to a lot of use and fair winds.
We've got an Arpenaz 4.2 for family camping weekends.
It does the job and doesn't cost a fortune, if it died tomorrow it owes us nothing and I'd probably buy another quechua to replace it...
Haven't got one but did look at them. The lack of integrated groundsheet put me off though. If you can wait until after the summer season and want to save some cash all the shops sell them of cheap September/October.
Go outdoors are also worth a look if you have one local.
I saw one today buying something else in Decathlon and and was really impressed by the "Fresh and Black" blackout inner. Genius.
I bought a second hand 4.2 about 7 years and it’s been to plenty of lads weekend race events. It’s had a hard life and still going strong.
Had a fair few scoops on the way to fort bill last weekend and had it useable in about 10 mins in the rain.
We Sat in the porch and chuckled at others messing about with big fancy tents getting drenched.
They defo worth the money.
Fresh black Pop up tent lives in the van just in case. Only ever used in bad weather, as we normally use canvas tents so it saves drying hassles. Zero problems, and it does stay fairly dark in daylight if that's important.
Got 3 decathlon tents. They've been brilliant. All decathlon kit is.
“Lack of integrated groundsheet “
Have two and both have them.
Not sure what of the larger ones you looked at.
I'm probably going to buy one of the blackout inflatable ones for this summer - I've only heard good things. Our current Decathlon tent (now discontinued) is honestly a bit rubbish though. It had a daft over complicated design that resulted in pooling of water if the ground wasn't 110% flat.
OP Several friends have had versions of the onesyouve linked to. Fine for summer camping in good weather, but they suffered over the May bank holiday in crappy weather in the lakes, they didn’t stand up to strong wind well and the lack of bathtub ground sheet in the porch meant a lot of their kit got wet that was stored around the sides. However on the same site there was a guy with decathlon’s air beam version of it and that looked great, if it was my money I’d pay the extra and go fir one of them. Don’t know about decathlon’s system, but air tents are normally a doddle to put up as well
I saw a 2 man and 3 man quecha lightweight tents. Looked a little flimsy but otherwise I thought they looked very good for the money
I have the two man version, it’s very light and seems robust so far. I’ve used it for bike packing and mountain marathons without issue. If you are sharing it out as part of a two man team it barely registers
My decathlon pop-up has lasted for 12 years now and is still going strong, great tents imho...........
Thanks for all the replies; I think that’s more than enough positive feedback to give it a try.
Now to work out just how much other stuff to buy to go with it. I’ve not really tried using a car to carry all my camping gear before so have to try not to get too excited.
Just got the air seconds 4.1 fresh and black.
The inflatable poles are great. Mainly bought because i have had issues with poles snapping in the past.
The inflatable tents also come with 5 year guarantee.
The fresh and black is brilliant.
A campervan pointing at us apologised because their kid had flicked the full beams on at us. Didnt even notice!
The material is also a lot thicker than normal tent fabric as it has a semi reflective layer on the inside.
Things to consider with the fresh and black. It has more vents and so is a bit draughtier than most if its a bit chilly. Also the black inner is so dark you need a torch to find stuff during the day.
General stuff is all very well thought out and well designed.
Sorry to highjack but if anyone is after a proper family tent then I have an unused Drummond 7 tent with footprint I need to get rid of, £300 & can chuck in some other camping stuff if needed 😉
Can't comment on the tents, but my experience of Decathlon own-brand gear generally is that it's very good for the money (and man have I ever bought a lot of truly crap camping gear over the years). I picked up some modular USB-rechargeable lights a couple of years back and they've been superb.
We have two 3 man pop up tents and the 'Base' pop up. Very impressed. The Base is getting a little worn as it was used as a 'cover' for our hot tub last summer, but I've now built a gazebo - it held up very well over the summer and my son is taking the 'base' to Le-Mans for connecting to two mate's tents. It's right on the Euro-tunnel limit for bag size - 85cm disc.
